Breaking the glass ceiling: Meet the female brigade that is leading the charge at SBI

Arundhati Bhattacharya has been the face of not only the State Bank of India, but of the entire public sector. For the 200-year-old bank, it took the first woman chairman to introduce a two-year sabbatical for married women so that their careers continue and their talent does not end up going down the drain. The biggest state-run lender has more women in its workforce than any other bank at 34%, but in the top executive positions, the number is minuscle- at just about 4% of the total workforce.

Bhattacharya, who chose to remain ‘chairman’ instead of being a chairwoman due to legal constrains that does not have allowance for chairwomen, may have sown the seeds for the mushrooming of women executives just like in the glory days of ICICI Bank under KV Kamath. Having reached the top, Bhattacharya, who joined SBI at the age of 22, believes there is nothing that stops women from climbing to the top, but they should be ready to sacrifice some things and need perseverance.

"You are doing yourself a disservice by not taking up the challenges placed before you," says Bhattacharya. "Solution would be found and later you would realise that it was worth taking the risk. There are a lot of areas in which you need to give up control and learn to delegate. That would free your time and that’s how you make luck for yourself." Sangita Mehta profiles five senior women executives at SBI.

Padmaja Chunduru, Country Head - US Operations For Padmaja Chunduru, 54, work-life balance is more important than getting obsessed with career as success or failure at work is beyond one’s control.

"Women should not aspire to be the best everywhere. It is better to fix goals. This may call for trade-offs. It is ok if you are not the best everywhere. You can still be a good mother even if you are a successful career women," she says.

The defining moment of her career was not sanctioning a billion dollar of loans, or recovering a few hundred crores, but helping folks stranded due to the ravage caused by cyclone in a city notorious for it, Kothavalasa, near Visakhapatnam, a coastal city in Andhra Pradesh.

But straight from the Bay Of Bengal Coast, it was the transfer to the Pacific Coast — Los Angeles — that changed her approach to career and life for ever.

"I had to learn to drive and manage both kids on my own, it was tough, but it made me independent and gave me confidence," says Padmaja, who went on to become the CEO of the LA subsidiary.

Varsha Purandare, MD, SBI Capital Markets Many women who quit professional life make a virtue of their sacrifice. But the message from Varsha Purandare is that it is not the right thing to do. It is a difficult call, but once you stick to the job, there is always help from someone, even from unexpected quarters. But not many would get the kind of kick that she got when she chose to be a banker — becoming the first lady to trade currencies at the SBI when it was a male bastion.

It didn’t just stop there — she was transferred to Ahmedabad branch, among the most crowded and the one chosen among thousands to be converted into a core banking solution technology platform — a Herculean task in 2005.

But what came in handy was her experience in the early years of posting in and around Pune where she worked with the accounts team, field officers and also as a branch manager. This laid the foundation for her emergence as a successful banker.

"Women should not opt out of promotion. Instead, they should look for support system. Also, as a lady, you have to be doubly efficient just to prove that you are on a par with male counterparts."

Manju Agarwal, Deputy Managing Director She never wanted to be a career women. In fact, the day she got engaged, she left her high-paying job as a lecturer to be a home-maker. But, as luck would have it, she landed a job with SBI amid family circumstances that forced her to work again. She was asked to join the bank two months after her first child was born. "I had to leave the infant with my mother for 40 days since I had to go for the induction programme, and that was the most difficult moment."

She moved from Lucknow to Delhi to Mumbai to Frankfurt to Hyderabad and Mumbai. But transfers have not been a hurdle since she received support from her family in raising her kids. But life has been tough for Agarwal. When her son passed away in an accident at the age of seven, she wanted to quit work and spend more time with daughter. But she somehow stayed back.

She has now gained a reputation of a go-getter at the SBI - she has been given the charge of new business, which also involves digital banking. Her advice to aspiring women: "If quitting is an option to support your children then try to take a sabbatical. And don’t hesitate to draw support from family."

Vasudha Sundararaman, MD, SBI-SG Global Securities Service For working women these days, a work place without a washroom for them is inconceivable. But that was what Vasudha Sundararaman had to endure to reach the position of chief executive — global, of SBI’s custodian services company, formed in partnership with Societe Generale. The rural posting at a village in Bongaigaon district in Assam gave her as much shock as a lesson in how to face surprises. In a career of 36 years, she has earned the distinction of being among the most skilled in retail banking — the staple of the sector in the past few years as industrial lending slumps. Her experience includes working in departments such as retail loan processing unit and alternate channels, and she has been in charge of big branches in cities like Chennai.

For any couple, working in the same organisation would be a blessing, but not for her.
Her husband’s job required him to travel for days, while she had to manage kids and also work. "Since we have a demanding job and responsibilities at home, we need to spend time productively in office so that we do not compromise on our responsibilities on either end. Women need to plan work and use time effectively. Once you learn that, it helps as you move up the chain in office."

Jayanthi Lakshmi, CGM, SBI (real estate and housing) She is as passionate about philately as she is about banking. It’s moot asking if her job at SBI has helped her accumulate enough wealth to be happy, but what surely brings a smile on her face is the mention of stamps — she has collected 15,000 at last count.

An MBA from IIM Bangalore, her father wanted her to join a public sector bank. She is one of the few women bankers with the distinction of having worked in six different states, and she has raised kids virtually without any family support. "It was tough to raise kids without any support. In fact, transfers is a reason why a lot of women do not take promotions. After scale 5, you are moved out of your home state and that becomes difficult particularly when it comes to child’s education," she says.

She had two years’ rural assignment in what is now Telangana when her younger child was just one-year-old. "I had no option but to leave her in crèche," she says. She is now leading the home loans and real estate portfolio, the fastest growing segment. All career achievements are enough to make any woman proud, but her regret is that she just managed to spend only one-third of her married life with her husband